Travis Jankowski DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The Tampa Bay Rays placed outfielder Travis Jankowski (groin) on the 10-day injured list on Thursday with a left-groin strain and reinstated outfielder Josh Lowe (oblique) from the 10-day IL in a corresponding move. Jankowski was forced from Wednesday's game early against the Toronto Blue Jays in the seventh inning with his groin injury and will now be forced to miss at least the next 10 days. The 33-year-old veteran will be eligible to return to Tampa's big-league roster on May 25. However, now that Lowe is back after straining his oblique on Opening Day, Jankowski won't have a clear path to playing time for the Rays when he's able to return. He wasn't all that attractive in AL-only leagues to begin with aside for his speed. Jankowski is hitting .244 (11-for-45) on the season in 21 games with the Rays and White Sox, adding no homers, two RBI and two steals.

Chicago White Sox middle infielder Brooks Baldwin, outfielder Travis Jankowski and second baseman Nick Maton have all made the Opening Day roster. Prospect Colson Montgomery and Chase Meidroth will start in the minors, so the White Sox plan on mixing and matching at shortstop to begin the season. Jacob Amaya is probably the favorite for most of the playing time at the 6, but the 24-year-old Baldwin should serve in a utility infield role. He hit just .211 with two homers, eight RBI and four steals in 33 games in his major-league debut in 2024. Jankowski, 33, latched on with the Pale Hose after being cut by the Cubs in spring training. With Mike Tauchman (hamstring) starting on the injured list, he could see some starts in the outfield against right-handers, but Jankowski has little fantasy upside. Maton, 28, had a strong spring and will serve as middle-infield depth to begin the 2025 campaign.

The Chicago White Sox announced on Wednesday that they agreed to terms with free-agent outfielder Travis Jankowski on a minor-league deal that includes a non-roster invite to big-league spring training. The Chicago Cubs signed Jankowski to a minor-league deal earlier this spring, but they reassigned him to minor-league camp on Sunday and then asked for his release. The 33-year-old veteran outfielder will now try to make the major-league roster with the rebuilding White Sox, although he'll have little time to impress the coaching staff in Cactus League games. Jankowski slashed a lowly .200/.266/.242 with a homer and 11 stolen bases in 104 games with the Texas Rangers last year. However, he does have 10 years of MLB experience and could win a platoon role in the outfield with both Andrew Benintendi and Austin Slater questionable for the start of the 2025 regular season due to injuries.